Philly is fast becoming a vegetarian food capital thanks to popular
eateries like Vedge, Hip City, Bar Bombon and V Street – each of which has each helped to put the city on the map in terms of plant-based delights.
While most of these hot spots tend to attract an array of carnivores
looking for the strange, not to mention herbivores hoping for a change from
the same old salad and pasta dishes, truth is, a slew of restaurants that
may be best known for meaty fare are striking out with tasty, new, plant-based dishes.

Whether seeking out the best veggie twists on a Philly cheesesteak,
rethinking brunch or simply wanting to explore new worlds of ethnic cuisine
(hello, Kurry Korner’s Japanese veggie
croquettes), some of the best meatless dishes in the region are now being
served in popular bars, restaurants and gastropubs that have been staples
for meat and potatoes – up until now, at least.

Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice

The grilled Veggie Impossible Burger from Frankford Hall. A 5oz. patty topped with melted cheddar cheese, tomato jam, special sauce, lettuce, pickles and onions served with a side of house cut french fries. Also photographed: cucumber salad with red onion & dill sour cream.

What makes this burger so sought after is just how uncannily it tastes like
real meat compared to most other veggie burgers. The patty sizzles and even bleeds like real meat, which can, admittedly, be either a boon or a turnoff, depending on one’s palate.

Rather than using black beans and other plant-based ingredients common to
most other meat-free patties, the Impossible Burger is made from a
combination of wheat and potato proteins and coconut oil. So, while it’s not
gluten-free, it is a very tasty alternative to red meat.

Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice

Royal Tavern's vegan tempeh club with grilled tempeh, vegan bacon, lettuce, tomato, basil aioli and a side salad.

Going beyond the meat

Tasting the
Beyond Meat Burger
(BMB) usually means having to double and triple-check that what one is
eating isn’t actually hamburger. Yes, it’s that good, which is why
dedicated BMB eaters may have noticed that it’s been selling out fast and
often at grocers that carry it, like Whole Foods.

The good news is that while it may be tougher than ever to find these
sumptuous burgers on supermarket shelves, a few select spots have included
the BMB on their menus, including, but not limited to Toasted Walnut,
Morgan’s Pier
and Punch Line.

While Toasted Walnut has been serving up a few different veg-friendly
dishes since it opened more than a year ago, a lot of comedy and/or
nightclubs rarely (if ever) cater to herbivores. This is (thankfully) changing as we see more cocktail and entertainment venues like Morgan’s
Pier adding genuinely daring veg dishes to menus, like the charred broccoli
with avocado, peanut and molasses.

The juicy BMB, which is gluten-free and high in both protein and iron, has
been making in-roads into much more traditional markets overall. According
to the company, it can be
found in more than 10,000 restaurants, hotels and universities nationwide,
including select
TGI Friday’s
and BurgerFi locations.

Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice

Fried, fried and more fried

Tattooed Mom
may be a beloved watering hole for all the right reasons, but it also gets
props for knocking it out of the culinary park with its new fried vegan
“chicken.” The hearty sandwich, made from textured vegetable protein or
TVP, is house-brined and piled high with pickles, onions, lettuce and
tomato and a killer hot-sauce mayo.

As regulars know, this favorite Philly dive bar has long catered to
herbivores with a hearty veggie menu before the trend took hold. It
features some of the better and most affordable meatless dishes, like the
go-to Mom’s vegan burger and Philly vegan cheesesteak. Healthier
alternatives to the fried fake “chicken” even include the vegan blackened
“chickn” sandwich or vegan chubbsteak wrap.

The KFT sandwich at Wiz Kid is
another deep-fried delight. The Rittenhouse restaurant, which serves up all
sorts of vegetarian twists on comfort food, does up the Korean fried tempeh
like nobody else.

Shake Shack
also serves up a decadent fried mushroom burger, while West Philly’s Local 44 has seitan
nuggets and scallion hushpuppies with smoked maple mustard.

Sausage and such: The new brunch

Brunch can often become the great compromise between veggie and meat-eating
friends angling for tasty bites. Fortunately, the brunch and weekend scene
is thankfully testing the culinary waters well beyond the usual
potato-and-egg platters.

At Front Street Café, for
example, herbivores have the option of ordering vegan scrapple or smoked
mushroom bacon (also try the Buffalo cauliflower with cucumber-dill
dressing).

It’s no wonder there are lines out the door at perennial breakfast favorite Green Eggs, which
serves a tofu scramble with vegan sausage and quinoa porridge, both game
changers.

Honey’s Sit N Eat
and Sabrina’s also have reliable
veg-friendly alternatives, like veggie sausage and the Frank the Pug Vegan
Special (with mushrooms, basil chimichurri and cremini mushrooms topped
with vegan cheese), respectively. And Farmicia does a banging
breakfast burrito with soy chorizo.

One of the best spots for all vegan breakfasts all the time is The Tasty, thanks to its array
of dishes that’ll make you want to revisit old diner faves, like meat-free
biscuits and “gravy” and the Monte Cristo with “hammy and cheez.”

Another winner is the vegan mushroom scrapple at the Triangle Tavern (don’t
forget about the vegan meatballs for dinner).

Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice

A plate of the mushroom scrapple breakfast at Triangle Tavern.

Veggie dogs and more

Craving a ballpark frank? No problem. Several spots have created some
interesting new twists on the old-school street food, like the vegan corn
dogs at Fox & Son
with a wealth of options, like sweet potato batter and chedder-jalapeno
sauce.

Another meatless pup worth barking about is the Veg-Dog “Mealionaire” at Destination Dogs. This spicy
vegetarian sausage is topped with samosa filling and Sriracha mayo.

Fake meat sandwiches are getting even more creative at pubs around town,
like the pastrami-spiced seitan Reuben with house-made sauerkraut at Local 44 and the tempeh club
with vegan “bacon” and basil aioli at Royal Tavern.

Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice

The Buffalo Chickn Cheezsteak and a kale salad with diced tomatoes and coconut bacon from The Tasty.

Competing for the best meatless cheesesteak…

Just about every vegetarian restaurant has tried creating at least one
fancy new version of the famous Philly cheesesteak (the best may be the
least glamorous “chickn” wrap at Govinda’s). And while some
folks may still consider a plant-based “cheesesteak” a sacrilege to all
that’s good and right on Philly’s gastronomic scene, there’s plenty of
competition.

One of the most interesting versions of the alt-steak can be found at The Tasty, which specializes in
three different vegan cheesesteak styles, including the chick’n, Buffalo
chick’n and standard “cheezsteak.” The Memphis Taproom also has its
homemade version: a roasted mushroom grinder.

The POPE stays more true to
Philly form with sautéed onions and a choice of provolone, Swiss, American,
cheddar or vegan cheese on its veggie “steak.” The Abbaye also does it up old-school
“wit” or “wit-out.”

Hibiscus Café
in West Philly also features a seitan-based “chicken” cheesesteak. A twist
on it is the Jamaican jerk tofu wrap with brown rice and sautéed greens.

Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice

Grace Tavern's blackened green beans and fried pickles.

Try these dishes now

As standalone meals or sides, there are quite a few exceptional vegetarian
and vegan plates that run the gamut in terms of rethinking traditional
cuisine in fresh new ways. Here are some highlights:

• The blackened Cajun-style green beans side at Grace Tavern, a creative
alternative to fries with fresh remoulade